Getting Started

So I read this book about heart disease - prevention and reversal. I am a prime candidate. My mom had a heart attack, my grandmother had strokes, and my great-grandmother did as well.

The message: Eat a plant-based diet. Nothing with a face or a mother. And even stricter - no oil. No nuts, avocados, even olive oil. Now there's a challenge.

Excluding meat doesn't bother me. I was a lacto-ovo vegetarian for 15 years and then just gave it up. I will have a more difficult time with the dairy. But, I got rid of the cottage cheese, yogurt, and cheese in the fridge. Eggs are gone.

Here is what I have: veggies, brown rice, and fruit. A very minimalist kitchen.

I still have 2% milk for my cereal but that will go as soon as it is used up. Probably in a day or two. I have almond milk as a substitute.

Today I went to Whole Foods (where the people don't really look all that healthy) with Melissa as my guide. We bought beets, kale, grapes, quinoa, lemons, peppers, apple butter, stoneground mustard, and the vegetable broth with the photo of the two guys on the back. I trust them.

Melissa washed and chopped and sauteed and stirred. I watched. She roasted the veggies using olive oil (one thing at a time!). Actually, they were too oily tasting for me, so I rinsed them off before I ate them.

She sauteed the beet stalks and greens. She stripped the kale and burned my big pot while sauteing the onions in the vegetable broth. Lesson number one: The broth cooks down fast. Keep an eye out.

She made me veggie burgers. Delicious but I found out she used egg so they would stay together. I am eating them anyway. Spicy and flavorful.

Basically since June 1 my eating has been good. It is just in the last few days that I have considered the vegan diet. So we shall see. This is the first time I have decided to change my eating for health reasons instead of looks.

Welcome to The Vegan Bunnie.